Motives

You'll often hear the phrase "check your motives" in self-help texts and on productivity and relationship blogs. You'll hear it too in church, or at least I hope you will. When criticism and misunderstanding are flying, how you respond is very, very important. It's very easy to get dragged into an argument, sometimes over the most minor of things. So checking your motives before, during and after any conversation is very helpful.

Today's devotional reading from Blackaby is about not being quarrelsome. He says simply that, "There should be no quarrelsome Christians," and then goes on to say that if you find yourself quarreling often that you need to ask God "to clearly reveal your motives".

Such advice doesn't just cover quarrelling, but every difficult and challenging conversation that we have.

This is Blackaby's observation:

If your motivation for arguing comes from your desire to be right, or to be exonerated, or to gain the esteem of those listening to you, you are acting selfishly, and God will not honour you. God is not interested in how right you are. He is interested in how obedient you are... you reflect a Christlike character when you demonstrate patience to those who mistreat you or misunderstand your motives.

I've had my share of being misunderstood and I have done my share of misunderstanding too. I pray that I am more Christlike now than I was in the past and will be more Christlike in the future.